I've Got The Abbey Habit.(Now Santander.)

The title "I've got the Abbey Habit, was a slogan on an advert in the UK, for Abbey National. OK, actually it is not a Bank att all, but a Building Society, but does the same job so I will refer nto it as a Bank from now on. I have been with this Bank for about thirty years, so I know how they work pretty well. I was with another Bank, but was not happy, so I did wht I thought was going to be a load of hassle, and changed Banks. The whold process was an absolute doddle. I asked my old Bank for a list of Direct Debits & Standing Orders I had, and virtually just handed all this information to the Abbey, who transferred everything over for me.

Since then, I have had a Savings account as well as my Current account, a mortgage, and also a credit card with them. These people also handled some investments for me. I therefore claim to be an expert, OK I am no such thing, but I do like this Bank.

The current account is the one where I can write cheques, pay via the counter, draw out my money through an ATM etc. All these services are completely free, as long as I am in credit. I also have an overfraft, again, this is free gratis so long as I don't go over my limit. The interest rate is not even worth mentioning, but that is the state of play with UK Banks at the moment.

I did do onine banking at one point, but there was a problem, either at the Bank end, or possibly a glitch with my comp. Either way, I was not able to transfer some money, and although the problem is more than likely resolved, I can do without this service. I do think it is a good idea for those wanting to chech balances etc. out of Banking hours.

The Bank is now in possesion of the Bradford & Bingley Building Society, and in the New Year will change it's name to Santander. To be quite honest I don't think there will be any benefit to me, apart from perhaps a few more free ATMs. I am also sure that there will be a huge amount of waste, Tonnes of paperwork being binned, comps needing upgrades, Bank signs replacing, and Millions of new pieces of paper printed. This is a shame, there is enough waste in this Country, not to mention the rest of the World, but I suppose it can't be avoided.

All in all I can recomment this Bank / Building Society to all my readers.